Barkston to Shap in two hours

[Not Jeremy]

This is an image that Matt and I have purchased the rights to for his forthcoming "Milk on the Rails" book, due to be printed next week.

 

It may be me(!) but I can't "square" the photograph and the location given on Rail Online's excellent website;

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p766079789/ea7b7846

 

The shape of the telegraph poles and the position of a power line in the background don't match any pictures or maps of the line that I can see or find in the vicinity of Barkston.

 

Can anyone help please?

 

There is a huge collective knowledge on here covering multiple locations and railways, so hopefully..

 

I may have missed something blindingly obvious, of course... 

 

Yours hopefully

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:38 by Not Jeremy
tat for that

[ROY@34F]

It looks to me just south of Barkston South junction on the up main line heading towards Peascliffe tunnel , a few miles north of Grantham .

Regards , Roy . 

[DaveF]

I don't think it is Barkston.  Below are three of Dad's photos.  They are taken before and after the date of the photo you are asking about and the telegraph poles do not match.  The background hill seen in the Deltic photo also doesn't match.

 

Barkston A4 60003 Andrew K McCosh up ex pass c1953 JVol5064

 

 

Barkston WD up goods c1960 JMImageX04

 

 

Barkston Class 55 Edinburgh to Kings X March 70 J2085

 

David

Edited Friday at 20:16 by DaveF

[Not Jeremy]

Those are beautiful photographs David, thank you ever so much for sharing them with us on this thread.

 

Also I am relieved (in a way) at your conclusion, backed up by those superb images, I suspect that the picture is not taken on the East Coast main line at all, so where is it? Maybe the West Coast main line somewhere? 

 

Also, it is a very long train for a loaded milk service and the BR standard brake van is unusual, so possibly an empty working? In which case, if northbound, then the shadows suggest a morning working...

 

Edited Friday at 20:43 by Not Jeremy
Relief of releived

[Davexoc]

Just down the road is Great Gonerby, not far from Barkston and there is a tunnel, and the line is straighter than at Barkston.

The photo says c1963, but if it were c1961 it might fit. Allington junction would be in the distance, which is where the line splits towards Barkston.

There is something going on towards the end of the train, that might be earthworks for the A1 Grantham bypass which was being built, opening in 1962.

If that was the case, it would be an up train about to join the ECML at Grantham.

[DaveF]

D319 appears to have spent all its life allocated to the WCML, from 1961 to 1966 it was allocated to Crewe North.

 

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=D&id=319&loco=319

 

So I would agree that perhaps it is a photo taken on the WCML.

 

David

Edited Friday at 21:13 by DaveF

[Stoke West]

56 minutes ago, DaveF said:

D319 appears to have spent all its life allocated to the WCML, from 1961 to 1966 it was allocated to Crewe North.

 

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=D&id=319&loco=319

 

So I would agree that perhaps it is a photo taken on the WCML.

 

David

Hardendale , new sidings for Coalvilles lime works

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, DaveF said:

So I would agree that perhaps it is a photo taken on the WCML.

The extended top arm to the poles with red insulators (for power @ 110V ?) is characteristic LMS practice.

Paul.

[MartinRS]

This image looks to have been taken at the same location. I searched on 'Shap' having noticed the historic use keys and chairs on one line and the Pandrol clamps on the other. I get the impression, based on the limited number of images, that this photo was taken from a signal box.

 

 

The Class 47 image is supposedly linked from https://picclick.co.uk/Original-35mm-slide-BR-Brush-Cl31-at-unid-375190892913.html

though I can't find it. Does the train reporting number 1M35 hold any clues?

Edited Friday at 23:20 by MartinRS
Link URL

[MartinRS]

Could the heaps in the photo beyond the fence be spoil heaps from the quarry in OS grid square NY5518 ?

[MartinRS]

The photo was taken from the B6261 road overbridge I think.

[MartinRS]

This photo of https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p779147002/h6b4bc71#h6b4bc71 with the caption Brush Type 4 No D1951 has just passed Shap Quarry. 3M35 was the Glasgow Gushetfaulds to London (York Way) up Freightliner train in late 1967 nails it.

[Not Jeremy]

Brilliant

 

Thank you very much to everyone for responding, especially Stoke West and Martin RS, a definite location!

 

That is incredibly helpful, and a great relief after being utterly baffled.

 

I will let Tony at Rail Online know so the he can correct the info on his site.and alter the book proof too.

 

Another demonstration of how great is RMweb.

 

Simon

 

[Not Jeremy]

As a postscript, the class 47 freightliner caption is not quite right, this location (and that of "our" photograph) is looking north from the B6261 road bridge at Shap Gate, as Martin says above.

 

The power lines in the background are what prove this point.

 

Sorry, I have become a bit obsessed with all this.

 

Back to reality...

 

Simon